House vs Home

House - n. a building for people to live in usually for one family.
Home- n. the house or flat/apartment that you live in, especially with your family.

What are the definitions of these words for you?

With the above-mentioned definitions from Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, you cannot blame a person for easily interchanging these synonymous words. Their meanings are connected like chains. Like a son that can never come out of the shadows of his father and a rose that will always make you think of red.

I came to one class that day having the same understanding. Why will you make something simple a complicated one? Why choose to think of hard differences rather than the handy similarities? These questions make it easy to decide on matters similar with what this blog post ought to talk about.

From that class, I was able to formulate an opinion on where the distinction of these words lies. Both house and home connote a place where people live in but one comes closer to the essence of relationships, especially the family. You can always own or build a house but you may still not consider it as your home without the person/ people (or a thing in some cases) who/ that makes you feel happy, safe and complete. A place where you can see yourself grow, love and live a peaceful life.

July 17 is a sunny, typical Tuesday for the people of Bakersfield, CA. While some are still on their way to their various destinations, Mike, a high school student, arrived home that day at an unbelievable time of 9:25AM, when he's still supposedly sitting on Mrs. Jones' Values Education class.

Thirty minutes earlier, his busy father, Viktor, got a call from a number that's not registered on his phonebook.

I'm O+

I'm positive, I'm O+

I missed writing a blog post as much as I missed drinking a cup of coffee while doing this. It's been a week or so after that attempt of mine to donate blood. Donating blood here is like every elsewhere (legitimate, of course), you need to pass different screening steps before you're given the clearance to donate blood. I passed the first three-fourths of this process only to find out that I can't donate, at least that time.


Reminiscing, I was busy that time preparing the medications that I needed to give to the patients that I handle. On the way to make the usual requisition before getting the RIGHT drug at the pharmacy, my attention was caught by a certain doctor, "doktora" to be exact. She asked me if I can donate blood for one of the patients who needed several packs of platelet concentrate. It was then that I realized that she is actually referring to one of the patients that I handle whose platelet levels are much lower than the normal range.


At one moment, I thought she was just kidding. I mean, how can you ask for a person to donate blood without asking his/ her blood type first? It's like borrowing a gun without even  exerting an effort to know if it has bullets. Good thing that this question bubble that I've had in my mind was popped by the coincidence that the patient (they should actually be referred to as "clients" according to one of my past mentors) was actually blood type O and Rh-positive too (Rhesus factor). There's one big problem though, I'm not really sure about my blood type since my first and last time to be tested was like 2 years before that time. Remembering that it was only done by an MT student made it even harder for me to decide. 


I don't want to add any additional burden, financial to be exact, to the patient. I know that if I consent to be screened, the patient will have to pay for the procedures to be done to me and the blood itself that I will donate, like what's usually happening here in cases when certain blood components aren't available in nearby blood banks. The outcome, which is the possibility that I can help save the life of the patient, outweighed the aformentioned burden though. With 3 of my colleauges going with me through the process, I said "yes." Then, blood sample for CBC (Complete Blood Count) and blood typing was collected, vital signs were assessed and many questions were asked. Blood type, compatible! Rh type, compatible! Things are going satisfactorily, until... 

Silence, smoking

Silence, Smoking by KG

I'm here again whispering these thoughts to you. I am completely alone right now. Alone in this place where nobody cares for you except the the extra cold winds brought about by recurrent rains. Ironically, I'm still wearing a sando so I needed to pull a blanket. I hear very loud "music" and chattering, seemingly hollering drunkards now but these aforementioned factors will be a hindrance for me to write this. At the least, I challenge myself.

It's really difficult to look for a peaceful place. Even if, you're already in a place with glass-breaking silence, you may still be looking for a more serene place. A place where you can read a book without having to interpret a local song played at the maximum volume at the same time. A place where you feel safe without entertaining some scary thoughts that some people you don't know will barge into your house, scream bad words and break some things with the alibi of being drunk and thus being not fully mindful of what he's doing. I can't tell that it's more peaceful back in our home. Located about 5 kilometers away from the town proper, I can't barely hear there the same noise that I'm forced to listen to right now. I refute that I'm not happy here but it will always be different to be beside your family.

My room is currently being invaded by air and noise pollution. I inhale the same air that's being polluted by smokers nearby. Being here, it seems like I can't do anything but to endure secondhand smoking. I hate it. I never smoked and never will smoke. The thought about a debate I accidentaly watched over the TV some time ago rushed back into my conscious memory again and a key point of one of the debaters made me sensitive to this insensitivity again: "You have the right to smoke as much as

iSupport the Philippine National Team in London Olympics 2012 (Final Update) [Sports][Philippines]

Updates as of August 11, 2012:

Name (Event)
Results
Medal Earned

1. ALKHALDI, Jasmine (Swimming, Women's 100m Freestyle)
[57.13, 100-meter freestyle, Rank: 34th of 50]
[No Medal Earned]

2. BARRIGA, Mark (Boxing, Light Fly Weight)
[Round of 32: Won vs CAPPAI of Italy, 17-7] [Round of 16 vs ZHAKYPOV of Kazakhstan: L 17-16]
[No Medal Earned]

3. CABRAL, Rachelle Anne (Archery, Women's Individual)
[Eliminated on Round of 32 vs STEPANOVA of Russia, 1-7]
[No Medal Earned]

4. CALUAG, Daniel (Cyclying, Men's BMX)
[Seeding Run: H1:5th, H2:7th, H3:6th, H4:5th and H5:6th, Total Pts: 29, Rank: 28/32]
[No Medal Earned]

5. DIAZ, Hidilyn (Weightlifting, Women's 58kg)
[Snatch-96, C&J- --*after 3 unsuccessful attempts]
[No Medal Earned]

6. HERRARA, Rene (Athletics, Men's 5000m)
[Official Time: 14:44.11, Rank: 21/21]
[No Medal Earned]

7. JAVIER, Mark (Archery, Men's Individual)
[Ranking Round: Result=649, Rank=55] [Eliminated on Round of 32 vs ELLISON of USA:1-7]
[No Medal Earned]

8. HOSHINA, Tomohiko (Judo, Men's +100kg)
[Round of 32 vs KIM of South Korea: at 65secs, lost due to"ippon"]
[No Medal Earned]

9. LACUNA, Jessie (Swimming, Men's 200m Freestyle)
[Offical Time: 1:52.91, 5th in Heat 2] [36th Overall] [DNQ for next round]
[No Medal Earned]

Can your LinkedIn profile truly increase your chances of getting hired? [Social Network][Study]

The  question  above  is  the  sole  reason  why  2  polls  were  launched  by  the  author  on September  2011  and  July  2012.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  website,  founded  on  2002,  for quite  some  time  now  but  he's  still  curious  about  the  greater  impact  that  the  website  does specifically based on its core objective to provide an effective relationship-powered job network.

A  poll  was  done  in  September  2011  to  serve  as  the  source  of  data  that  served  as  points  of comparison with the latest ones.

Continue reading through the copy of the article embedded below.


Can Your LinkedIn Profile truly increase your chances of getting hired?

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